Twin Mamas- Help me out in the "stuff" department

[Adaline'sMama]

Hey ladies! I joined our local twins club, and found out that the big sale is in just two weeks! It's the only consignment sale that will happen before the babies are born, so Id like to go ahead and get some stuff there to save money. We've pretty much got the following things covered:

Carseats

Stroller

Pack n play

Cribs

Nursing Pillow

Diapers

Slings

Twin highchair

Diaper bag, swing/bouncer thing, ?? What else? What little things would be good to get at the sale? Stuff that might make my life easier.

Thanks :)

[Mom2HandE]

Hi Adaline'sMama,

Check out my blog post on twin essentials at http://chaosandthekitchen.blogspot.ca/2012/04/expecting-twins-here-are-some.html

[~Adorkable~]

i have a list like this, let me put it back together and spruce it up with my name finally sleeping (kinda) refreshed brain. those twin club sales can be total life savers!!

best thing is think of it like renting something, you are going to sell most all of it back in 6 to 12 months, often for exactly the same price you bought it for (minus the commission the club keeps, thats the rental cost)

thinking that way i felt ok buying a bit over and figuring it out later.

also as far as mine goes, tiny clothing is what they have most of and the members usually already have grown out of it, so there is not so much struggle to find great clothing, rather go for the non clothing stuff on your list first, that stuff sells out faster as it is for more ages at times.  

find out when the spring sale is usually, so you can think of what size they will be and what season it will be then and make sure you buy for everything till then and a extra month or so incase they move the sale, something that happens because of venue choices.

since your babes will be born near to the next sale focus on the important things and the great finds and assume there is always another sale! 

i buy for anytime in the next year at each sale, i keep i little cheat sheet about what age/size my kids will be at each big clothing season or event. (beach =16-20m, camping = 18m, next sale= 22m, x-mas/birthday 24m, formal event = 27m hot weather)

once they were born i also kept measurements of them on me and a ruler, since clothing companies vary so much!  so i know that for instance at the last sale her onesies were needing to be 15" and his 17" to fit, no matter what size they said.

[~Adorkable~]

also talk you your club members to find out if the crowd forms very early, all the best stuff is often sold in the first hour and members usually get in before the public to get the very best stuff, our club only gives normal members a 30 min head start over public, not much time. by volunteering to work later i nthe day, they can get in an hour earlier! so ask about that too, it can be loads of fun and a great way to meet everyone.  even better if you volunteer to set up before the sale, then you get a better idea where things are and what kinds of things are there, you can hone your list and plan the night before!

[Adaline'sMama]

Thanks Adorkable :)

Volunteers get in all day, Members get in 5-9 pm, and the next day its open to the public. The next sale is in mid Feb, so it's doubtful that we will make it. (maybe I can send dh) .

[gozal]

Eagerly reading along!

You pretty much have everything covered that's on our need-to-get list. We don't have that many chairs so we're planning to invest in those wooden high chairs that convert to toddler/kid chairs. We need another baby bucket. Our baby bathub busted so we need a new one. More cloth dipes. Then a few nice-to-haves like those bundle-me's for the car seats, another puddle pad, and a sheepskin. I'd like to get a structured carrier that can hold a newborn (I'm thinking Beco Gemini?) and a wrap, since I didn't like my sling and we have an Ergo without the infant insert. I'd rather get the newb-accomodating 2nd carrier and then when they have head control we'll have a carrier for each. Other extras: better swaddle cloths than we had the first time around and an artery thermometer which is supposed to be as good as rectal and I wouldn't have to disinfect between twins. We have one swing and one bouncy so we'll start with those and see if we need more. (DS loved the swing passionately and hated the bouncy just as passionately, so you never know...) I would LOVE to get as much as possible 2nd hand but am not having much luck. The used carriers and CDs I'm finding are almost as $$ as new, in particular. It seems like the top items at my local kids consignment sale are size 0-12mo baby clothes and bouncy chairs, neither of which we really need. My twins club hasn't had their yet though, so it could be different. I'd get a used boppy just to have a non-strap-on bf pillow (I have the single My Brest Friend, and I'm getting the Double Blessings twin one) if I found one at a sale.

[Adaline'sMama]

Im thinking about getting the double blessings pillow if i find one at the sale. My BFF got me this pillow, which I have tried on with two baby dolls and it seems like it will be awesome.

http://www.twinnursingpillow.org/

I need swaddle cloths too! thanks for the reminder. Also, Id like a monitor to hear id babies are crying (we'll be getting the snuza halo breathing monitors, but they dont have a speaker or anything in case of crying).

ON BATHING TWINS:

I use this thing to bathe newborns-1 year olds because it is awesome. It submerges them, but keeps their heads up. Dh will be home for the first month or so, but after that Ill be on my own for bathing. What do you think of me getting two of these and facing the babes towards each other for bathtime. I usually wear knit gloves while bathing newbs so they dont slip away from me. How do you bathe twins?

http://www.idealbaby.com/Summer-Infant-Mothers-Touch-Comfort-Baby-Bather_p_10959.html

[Keria]

I can't imagine trying to bathe them at the same time. We do one first and then the other one.

[QMtwins]

We bathed ours one right after the other for about 2-3 months.  At such a young age, the only time I could bathe them togehter is if I sat in the tub with them, both propped in my lap and DH was there to hand them in and out.  After about 3 months then, we used an exercise mat in the regular bath tub and they would lay in there and kick and splash away!  It was always handy to have an extra set of hands then...someone to hand that first baby to so you could finish with the second, if needed!  Otherwise, I laid out a beach towel on the floor next to the tub to set them both on and dry them off.  I remember it being a doozy on the back!  All in all, gatering everything you need is essential!  :)

[pammysue]

What is a twin highchair? I've never heard of that!

[Adaline'sMama]

Oh, its cool. I found it on IKEAhackers, which we kind of live off of. Im super excited about it.

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2010/12/ultimate-twin-highchair.html

[~Adorkable~]

that is completely awesome, i am in love! i have seen those huge 300 dollar tables at the sales here and kinda lusted after them. this would be amazing.  only down side is that i sometimes like to let me twins be right side by side, they feed each other and giggle and its fun, other times they just need to be out of arms reach of each other big time.

i think if i were to make the table, i would make three holes, 2 near each other and a third out of toddler arms reach of the one next to it. and then make a blank to fill in the spot i didn't need at the time. plus that lets to maybe drop in a 3rd chair for when your singleton playmate comes over!

I  IKEAhackers!

[Adaline'sMama]

OOh, good idea! Maybe I will make a third hole.My DD is tiny for her age, and honestly, she could sit in it.

[pammysue]

Ok, that's cool. Did you guys make it?

[Adaline'sMama]

Not yet, Im in search of the perfect table right now. I want a 54'' in diameter solid wood table. This is going to be my kitchen table (we have a pretty small space), so I want it to last. But, I want to get it cheap, cheap, cheap, so Im searching thrift shops and craigslist. :) Ill post pics when it's done for sure.

[mamalovex3]

I think you covered all the essentials there.  We also had a few bouncy seats (http://www.babiesandkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/baby-einsteins-around-the-world-cradling-bouncer-1-470x470.jpg) that came in handy.  And we used our swing a lot, and ended up borrowing a second, but with my first we never used the swing so I think it depends on the baby.  I would maybe buy one and then decide if you need a second one.  Oh, and we had two regular boppy pillows that I never used for nursing but were awesome for propping one baby while you tend to the other, and things like that. 

btw - the highchair thing is so cool!  I've never heard of ikeahackers before - neat!!

[kristenly83]

there is really SO much stuff that you just don't need and a few very helpful things that you do. i blogged about it here  http://crunchytwinmom.blogspot.com/2012/05/baby-gear-simple-and-affordable.html

[Adaline'sMama]

Thanks Kristen- cool blog.

We will probably skip the baby food grinder (we do BLW, and I do have a food mill if I really want to make baby food) and the nursing cover (I either dont use one or I use an aiden and anias blanket). We've toyed with the idea of not swaddling this time, so we will skip the miracle blanket and just use other swaddle blankets.

I lost my son to SIDS in April, and we've made the decision not to co sleep this time (not that I believe co sleeping had anything to do with his death, nor do I believe cosleeping to be unsafe for the mamas who choose it), so we got two cheap cribs from IKEA. Im pretty please with the quality to price ratio- they are great for what they are. We have super low to the ground bunk beds in DD's room that Ill move them to eventually (they come apart into two single beds). We probably will sleep them together while we are awake, so it does seem silly to get two cribs, but they were cheap.

We dont have many high surfaces in our house, and I remember what a pain it was to change DS with DD all up in his business, so Im glad we got a changing table- but again, it was super cheap. And it can be converted into a bookshelf.

Here's the stuff I've gotten so far (for anyone who is curious):

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50213565/  (these were actually $79.99 in the store)

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90111391/  (we have no closets)

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S29828090/  (the changing table part comes off and it converts to a bookshelf)

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3811153 (most prized possession)

http://www.twinnursingpillow.org/